It's been a long time. For the last ~2 years I've been enjoying my "retirement" working on black projects at big companies. It was thrilling and really interesting work -- but I finished my work, and I'm done with the secrecy and with working for big corporations. I've always been scrappy and I've always loved working with People From The Internet. Where I was, that wasn't allowed. I am free again, and it feels great.
I'm trying to make it on my own now. I've started a small business called "Vice Chief" doing fast prototyping. I have set up a shop with a bunch of great tools:
- CNC machining (metal and wood)
- Laser cutting
- Laser welding
- Large format 3D printing
- Metal fabrication of all kinds
- Optical metrology and measurement
I also set up a YouTube channel (Vice Chief) where I am sharing fast prototyping techniques and shop tips (if you like it, please subscribe/tell your friends). My hope is that by sharing lots of interesting projects and hard-won shop knowledge, I can funnel some interesting work into the shop and keep the doors open. Mostly, it just feels good to be sharing knowledge again.
I don't have any plans to make or sell book scanner kits again, but I do plan to help out with R&D here from time to time. I'm a much better engineer now than when I started, and I'm sure there are places where I can still contribute.
I missed you all.
Daniel